Saturday, December 23, 2017

Friday, December 22, 2017

Just watched a video by bpearthwatch who went through the Annex. The
executive order says that they can seize the assets of anyone connected
with any of those people in the annex. There is one name that appears
time and time again in the Annex. His name is Dan Gertler, he’s an
Israeli, he runs various Diamond mines but he also has a foundation
called Gertler Family Foundation. If you go to their website two of the
many names connected with that Foundation are Clinton Foundation and the
Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. I think Hillary, Bill, Chelsea and
Microsoft may be on their way to prison... and they will be broke....
Maybe the US won’t have to pay for the wall after all, Trump can use
these corrupt people’s assets to pay for it! The Greatest President in
US History, Hillary was probably right when she said they would all
hang, on election night....﻿

Statistically, the majority of computer operating systems used by individuals are Windows based. 67% of the visitors to this blog use Windows, which is a fairly good representation of the operating systems used world-wide. Linux systems come in second at 13% with the rest trickling in with single digits and ipad picking up the rear at 1%.

That said, I've been running Linux on my machines for years and in that time found my worst computer days at least equal to my best days using any of the Windows operating systems since Win 95. Unlike old cars and radios, all Microsoft operating systems are engineered to become obsolete, unstable, and unusable only a few years after roll out. They do this by cutting support of the OS, making it impossible to receive updates. Like turning off the life support to a much loved friend, and there's nothing you can do about it. Try installing Win 98 and see how far you get.

Anyway, because Microsoft Vista became obsolete and unsupported, I installed Linux systems in three laptops this month alone. Two for friends and one for the laptop I picked up for a bargain, partially because a new MS OS would cost a few hundred. Hell, you can get a damn good, used laptop for the cost of a Win 10 OS, doubling the cost of your investment. Hardly worth it.

Aside from the laptops, I swapped out four Linux operating systems on my desktop this month on a whim. Arch Linux, Solus, Mint KDE, and Manjaro all looked real good but I settled on Linux Mint 18.3 as my daily driver. I guess I had to go through extremely complicated to extremely simple to realize the Linux system I used when I first switched from Microsoft was the best fit for me. That's the beauty of Linux. It takes more time looking over the thousands of free operating systems than it does to download and install an OS. Installation takes about ten minutes. It's like shopping for shoes.

But Microsoft... You're locked into a proprietary system with a pre-determined lifespan, designed to force you to buy bigger RAM, bigger CPU, bigger hard drive, and bigger headaches when it slows to a crawl after a couple years of use.

Why would anyone buy a Toyota if it ran like shit and got .5mpg in five years when you can get a new car for free that gets you 100mpg with a lifetime of free maintenance?

I love this OS.
Take a look at this desktop.
The minimalist look is clean and extremely functional. From the
desktop I can access personal files, system settings, and something like 33,000 programs
for everything from Audacity to Wine.

It doesn't look like much but I can run this thing for weeks with 50 open tabs and multiple running programs without a hint of CPU overload. It does everything I want it to do with extreme efficiency. It's fully customizable for what you want to get out of your computer.

I suppose the reason I went through so many operating systems this month was complacency. I wanted something different, a challenge. I wanted something simplified but not simple. I wanted a challenge but not something with too steep a learning curve.

I find it interesting that the system I love the most is an upgrade of the one I originally had.

Isn't that the way life is? Maybe we should be thankful for what we have and know that this is what we really need, right now.

I never thought this would turn into a holiday philosophy, but so be it.

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Monday, December 11, 2017

It's no secret I'm very fond of rum. It's my go to beverage of choice. The virtual versatility of this beverage is astounding. It goes with just about anything, especially if it's tropical fruits. On it's own, in straight form, I find it more acceptable to my psyche than even Irish whiskey, my second favorite hard liquor beverage.

But here's a problem. I know drinking rum every day could do some harm to my system, particularly my liver. Although my most recent blood test shows my liver to be well functioning, it's still my third favorite organ and needs a little attention from time to time. To counter the abuse I put to my third favorite organ, I've been drinking apple cyder vinegar on a regular basis. Apple cider vinegar repairs my liver while rum tends to mess it up. Basic physiology.

It's pretty much a forgone conclusion that sooner or later I'll come up with a concoction that includes both apple cider vinegar and alcohol, that is, if you've been paying any attention to this blog. I mean, sooner or later every experiment I come up with combines good and evil to create something fabulous, right? Tonight is no exception.

I took a small glass of rum and added a couple splashes of apple cider vinegar just to see what it tastes like. The idea was to come up with a drink that the good and evil would cancel each other out. I figured if it tasted like shit, it's a small glass and it'll be empty quick. Let me tell ya... I'm on my second glass of this stuff. I mean, the combination of rum and apple cider vinegar creates a total obliteration of both tastes. It's not rum and it's not vinegar. It's something completely different and I really like it. It doesn't have the rum burn and it doesn't have the vinegar pucker. It's the whole that's better than the sum of it's parts.

Granted, like I said, I like rum but vinegar is something I'll drink because it's good for me and nothing more. (typical type A) But this stuff... It's indescribably interestingly good.

I should point out that adding too much vinegar will produce a drink that tastes more like vinegar than rum. I caution you to add prudently. This is still experimental. You're looking for a balance in taste. When you find it, you'll know it.

I figure this combination should be no worse than neutral for my liver and if I continue to take apple cider vinegar, my liver will dramatically improve. Hence, I've created a pleasurable, alcoholic drink that supports liver function while getting you totally shitfaced, guilt-free.

I should start a whole line of healthy alcohol related products. What do ya think?

Thursday, December 07, 2017

After my foray with cheap home made wine, I decided to up my game a little and invest in some decent juice and do it the right way. I got busy on some Petit Syrah juice from California, and at the same time, threw together a batch of apple/peanut butter wine, a batch of barley corn and rum ferments, another six gallons of frozen concentrated stuff, and to round it out, six gallons of hard cider. I decided to call it quits when I came across a spare bucket of juice from Merlot grapes.

Ok, some of this stuff I was just about to pitch because I had second thoughts on the combination of apples and peanut butter in a wine. The result was sweeter than my taste buds could handle but everyone who tried it raved about it and wanted more, like I added something addictive to the mix. Rather than pitch it, it's going to be Christmas presents, along with some business cards and cheap, plastic glasses.

In my opinion, the best of the bunch was the Merlot. Man alive... This stuff came out better than expected and at least equal to the stuff that comes from Napa valley. It took less than one bottle to convince me to not only give this stuff a decent label but to make an effort to produce this wine, and others like it, in bulk and establish a winery of my own.

It's a semi-dry wine with all the rich nuances that makes Merlot second only to Cabernet Sauvignon as the most popular grape since France learned how to make wine and it goes with everything. It's also 20% of the blend used to produce the world renowned Rubicon, which can't be found in the liquor stores and wineries I frequent. In my humble opinion, the Rubicon I had was the finest wine I ever tasted, which instigated my interlude with Irish whisky and Puerto Rican rum. Hey, I had the best wine. No sense pulling any more corks expecting anything close.

Now that I'm back on track, my next trick is producing the remaining 80% of the Rubicon blend in extreme bulk and offer it for sale, along with other choice wines for those with good taste and a passion for great wines.